


Shrinking Distances

by BBQChickenPizza



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Off-screen Relationship(s), Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:36:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBQChickenPizza/pseuds/BBQChickenPizza
Summary: Kasen's first exposure to Valentine's Day may have started less than ideal, but she's always determined to come out on top, especially where Komachi is involved.
Relationships: Hakurei Reimu/Kirisame Marisa, Ibaraki Kasen/Onozuka Komachi
Kudos: 28





	Shrinking Distances

A cool Winter night enveloped Kasen’s residence. It was the same as any other day, complete with Kasen herself sitting atop her roof, meditating. Rather, she was deep in thought over her latest conundrum. Her mind was rife with internal conflict and What Ifs or regrets on how she should have handled this morning’s incident. But most of all, she kept getting sidetracked by subtle thoughts about-

_Clack._

The sound of footsteps began to approach her.

“Yo, Kasen!” came the usual cheery voice. Komachi Onozuka had once again entered the scene. She seemed to be making a point of being slightly more polite with her greetings lately.

Kasen, still full of confusion, simply gave a light wave without turning around. She ignored the slight warmth that began to spread through her cheeks.

“What’s got you so contemplative this time?” asked Komachi as she took a seat to the left.

“It’s… nothing.” mumbled Kasen, barely giving Komachi a glance.

“Heh. Well, it’s gotta be _something!_ ” Komachi set her scythe down and shifted around to a more comfortable position. “But hey, just talk if you feel like it. Do your hermit thing and pretend I’m not here, if you’d like!”

Kasen nodded absentmindedly and returned her full attention to her thoughts. She closed her eyes and did her best to clear her mind, but it seemed like her vision could only return to the scene at the Hakurei Shrine that transpired earlier. Her cheeks started to burn from embarrassment. Something about what happened there seemed to cause a stir within her. Was this… envy? She needed to bury those ideas even further.

After several minutes or more, nothing had changed. Kasen let out a frustrated sigh and resigned herself to seeking advice.

“Say…” She opened her eyes and turned to Komachi, who was already staring at her wide-eyed and barging into her personal space. Kasen bolted back in surprise, her face quickly turning a deeper red.

“W-Were you staring this whole time?!”

Komachi slowly leaned back, and looked around innocently. She didn’t seem to realize how close she was.

“Can you blame me?” She shrugged.

Kasen slowly tried to regain her composure with a few forced coughs.

“A-Anyway. Would you know much about the Outside World’s traditions?”

Komachi raised an eyebrow. “A little. Probably more than the average villager or youkai. Whatcha need to know?”

Kasen slowly forced the words out. “Do you know anything about a… uh… religious tradition? I think Sumireko called it, err… Balloon Time Day?”

Komachi gave a hearty laugh. “Did you mean _Valentine’s Day_? It’s some big celebration of love and all that. Lots of chocolate too. I forgot it was today! What’s the problem?”

Kasen gave a deep breath before trying to force all the words out.

“Well let’s say hypothetically that Sumireko told everyone she ran into about this event and that two particularly troublesome humans decided to take part in its rituals and exchange sweets and talk about how much they care for one another and started to display some light but in hindsight family appropriate intimacy just as an unsuspecting friend of theirs decided to stop by their residence and had no prior knowledge of their romantic relationship and may have shouted a few too many concerns in regard to the sanctity of the duties of one of the involved parties and then quickly fled before anyone else had a chance to speak for themselves!”

Kasen gasped as she forced out the last words with all her breath. Komachi slowly blinked as she tried to take in the full rant.

“Kasen, you aren't Reimu’s mother. She can date whoever she’d like.” She said casually.

Kasen stammered, “I-I didn’t say it was-”

Komachi rolled her eyes. “Did you really have no idea about those two until now? You could ask any passing fairy and they’d probably think the two of em are married! And here I thought everyone else was a bit daft for not realizing you’re actually an o-”

“ _AHEM!_ ” Kasen gave a deathly glare.

Komachi flinched. “Right, sorry. But still, Reimu is as human as they come, and with all the basic needs that typically entails. It really isn’t your place to judge. Especially with the kinda life you live.”

Kasen heaved a long sigh. “I think I already realized that. I’m just not sure how I’m going to face the two of them after my outburst.”

“I doubt Reimu will care, at least. Marisa might be a bit more outspoken, but just act natural. Apologize if it comes up. That’s all you really can do.” Komachi laid down to signal she had nothing more to say.

“I suppose…” muttered Kasen.

She returned to her thoughts in the hopes that her mind would ease, but still found something was flustering her. She stared aimlessly at her surroundings as the irritation seemed to grow even worse. Without consciously meaning to, she found herself stealing glances at Komachi beside her.

After a few too many looks, Komachi seemed to finally take notice and sat up.

“I knew it! Are you sure there isn’t a certain something else bugging you?”

“Such as?”

“We’ve been seeing each other for a while now, right? And now there’s a special occasion!”

Kasen’s eyes widened. “I- You- Do you have to put it that way?”

Komachi grinned. “Am I wrong?”

There was a distinct lack of “Yes” resounding through Kasen’s head, but her pride kept her from agreeing aloud. Komachi took her silence as a sign to continue.

“It’s Valentine’s Day, right? It’s a great time to confess any feelings you may have been locking up! Wouldn’t wanna wind up dying alone with an unrequited love like a few souls I’ve ferried! Gotta live a little!”

“What are you suggesting?” Kasen said hesitantly. She eyed the shinigami.

Komachi seemed to be shifting closer, or perhaps it was Kasen that was doing so. They stared at each other for a few painstaking seconds as everything around them began to fall from view.

The nagging feeling in Kasen seemed to reach critical mass. She broke eye contact and steadied her breath. Komachi leaned back again and watched with a calm expression.

“Take your time.” She said a bit too smugly.

Kasen looked back at her. She quickly recovered as certainty began to take form in her heart. Komachi was always toying with her like this, but Kasen knew the moment she took her own initiative, her “foe” ought to crumble. Maybe this “Valentime” really was what she needed. With another deep breath, she smiled and grabbed Komachi’s right hand with her left.

“Oh?” Komachi showed a rare look of surprise as her cheeks quickly flushed. Now it was her turn to avoid eye contact. “Y-You know, your left hand is a lot warmer than I expected!”

“And yours is about as cold as I expected, for a minion of death.” Kasen said smoothly. She rested up against Komachi’s shoulder. She could feel her companion shaking, and it was hard to say if it was fear or excitement.

“So were you just all talk up until now, shinigami?” She chuckled.

Komachi took her time to respond. “Well, I had just thought, y’know. You’d take another few decades before this much!”

“Taking me lightly, then? I’ll show you!” Kasen quickly lifted herself and plopped onto Komachi’s lap, wrapping her arms around her.

Kasen made a noise that could only be described as a cackle. “You’re shivering pretty bad! Though it is a bit cold tonight! This is the least I could do as hospitality!”

Komachi was speechless for a moment, then forced a laugh as she mustered a response. “Just as long as you only share this much with me!”

Kasen flashed a warm smile. “Now you’re just trying to be sweet. It seems I’ve dulled your scythe.”

Komachi grabbed Kasen’s hand. “That’s only fair, with your dulled horns.”

Kasen giggled. She’d let that one slide. They stared at each other again. Then one last thing began to irk Kasen.

“I feel like you’re always getting close to me when I’m not looking. Is that your power at work?”

Komachi shrugged and grinned. “Maybe. I think I just naturally drift closer to things I like.” With that, she nuzzled Kasen’s cheek.

Kasen’s heart raced, but she returned the gesture. “I guess I still can’t keep my guard down.” She broke contact.

“Hmm?” Komachi looked uncertain.

WIth all her strength and speed, Kasen gave Komachi a quick peck on the cheek.

Komachi seemed a little disappointed by how brief it was, but simply retorted with a slow, emphatic kiss of her own. 

Kasen tried to keep her voice from wavering. “I think we’ll call this a draw.”

Komachi smirked. “What do you mean? I think we’ve both gained something wonderful here tonight!”


End file.
